________________ 70 Introduction tail". The term sthiti-bhagiya perhaps alludes to the Sautrantika theory of samkranti, santana or bija, severely criticised in the Vritti and also in the works of the Vaibhashika acharya Samghabhadra. Although these two words, viz., the Darshtantika and Sautrantika are used separately in the Bhashya, in the Vritti they are almost used as synonyms. Several Sautrantika views appearing in the Bhashya are attributed to the Darshtantika in the Vritti. It is, therefore, to be presumed that at the time of the Vtitti these two names were treated as almost identical referring to one and the same school. Although the Sautrantikas or the Darshtantikas like Kumaralata and Srilata played a major role in the period of the Maha-vibhasha, their activities appear to be directed only towards evolving their doctrines side by side with the Vaibhashikas, or towards submitting alternative interpretations of the sutras quoted by the Abhidharmikas, as is evident from the Sphutartha of Yasomitra. They are not yet hostile to the Vibhashika; the VIitti quotes' Kumaralata as an authority and seeks to support even the doctrine of three times (adhva-traya) by his doishtanta of the motes in the sunlight.* * The Sautrantikas found their chief exponents in the persons of Vasubandhu the author of the celebrated Abhidharma-Kosa-Bhashya, and his competent commentator Yasomitra, the author of the Sphutartha Abhidharma-Kosa-Vyakhya. Vasubandhu stands in a supreme position among the later Buddhist teachers. A Sautrantika by conviction he wrote a compendium on the Abhidharma and finally emerged as a great exponent of the Vijnanavada Buddhism. Although he claimed that the Kosa was composed in con. formity with the Kasmira-Vaibhashika school,' his Bhashya 1 sthiti-bhagiya nama Sakyah sva-langulika dvitiya-namanah... Adv. p.148. 2 See LVPAK, Introduction, pp. LII-LV. 3 Ado. p. 16. 4 Adv. p. 277. 5 Ak. VIII. 40ab.
